About Me

Wife to a wonderful husband and mom to a beautiful daughter.
Our daughter is 15 years old and in 10th grade. She was homeschooled through 8th grade and is now in high school and doing great!
I currently work from home, teaching English to children in China with VIPKID!

Homeschool Blogs I ♥

I Review For

Disclosure

To be in compliance with the recent FTC ruling that bloggers need to disclose if they are being paid or compensated for their posts, the following is my disclosure policy:

Our Homeschool Reviews is a blog written by me, Christine. Its sole purpose is to share homeschooling products and ideas with you.

Our Homeschool Reviews does accept and keep free products from companies and organizations. That being said, I will not be influenced by any form of compensation. I will always write my honest opinions and experiences.

Our Homeschool Reviews has several links to various stores. Some of these links are affiliate links. That means that if you click on them and purchase something using that link I get a *small* percentage of the sale. You do not have to click on them, but you are more than welcome to {and thank you if you do}.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Dial Complete Foaming Hand Wash is all dressed up in limited edition holiday designs. Get in the festive spirit and decorate your home for the season!The Holiday collection features four cheerful designs: Santa, Snowman, Candy Cane, and Holiday Scene. Each design will help brighten up your sink with a bit of holiday cheer, both in your kitchen and the bathroom.These decorative bottles contain Dial Complete's #1 doctor recommended antibacterial foaming hand wash. This formula kills 99.99% of germs encountered in the household setting while still being gentle on skin.

We received both the Santa and Holiday Scene and have them in our bathrooms.

Disclosure: This product was
given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do
not have to return the products to the vendor. I have received no
compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review
are my own.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Do you have a middle school aged student? Are you looking for a curriculum that covers multiple subjects that they can work on independently? If so, listen up!

TRISMS History's Masterminds is an award-winning middle school curriculum that covers World History, Language Arts, Geography, Literature, IEW, and more, from 3500 BC to Present.

Why is this curriculum unique? TRISMS uses a format of integrated study where all subjects focus on a point in time. It focuses on the people involved in important historical events and discoveries rather than just focusing on events or dates.

The lessons are presented on a two-page spread. Below you can see a Lesson Plan Explanation Page. It seems a little confusing at first, and to be honest, it was. I spent quite a bit of time studying this explanation page and using it to understand the lesson plans in the book. For further help, their website offers a Lesson Walk-Through.

The key portion of both the student book and teacher's manual, in my opinion, is the Research Guide. The student will be doing a lot of independent research and the guide is a short lesson to help prepare and develop their research skills.

For instance, the lesson plan may list an invention or explorer and then refer the student to the Questionnaire in their Student Pack. They would then do the research on their own and answer the questions. Below are a few sample questionnaires.

The Lesson Plans are organized so the student is working on different things each day of the week. One day they may be defining words, the next they are researching an explorer, and another day they could be drawing a flag or locating places on a map.

History's Masterminds includes 38 lessons which can be completed in either one or two years. Many students find it more enjoyable when extending it over a two year period, which allows more time for them to focus on their favorite subjects.

My Thoughts: History's Masterminds is a meaty curriculum! It did take me some time to understand the format of the lessons, but once I did, I could see how this could be a wonderful curriculum. I love how it teaches the students to become independent self-directed learners! That may be the aspect of this curriculum that I like the most. I also find it interesting that the focus is on people rather than events. Lastly, I like that it incorporates World History with Language Arts, Geography, Literature, and IEW.

Disclosure: This product was
given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do
not have to return the products to the vendor. I have received no
compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review
are my own.

Friday, November 23, 2012

There are so many deals happening on Black Friday, I thought I would list a few of my favorites right here. And while you're browsing, don't forget to enter my giveaway for Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil!

Use code BLACK25 for an additional 25% off
everything in The Compass Store Friday through Monday (except live classes,
which are already a great deal). Lots of their products are always on sale
for 10-30% off, so this goes on top of those standing sales. I recommend the Visual Latin downloads!

Kidorable is offering Free Ground Shipping on all orders you place between now and next Wednesday, November 28. (Not valid with other offers). Use coupon code GRATEFUL55 at checkout to get free shipping on any order, big or small.

Funny Bunny created her own online store about a year ago on Zazzle called Funny Bunny Designs. She creates her own designs, loads them on to Zazzle merchandise, and makes a small percentage of sales. She has actually done quite well. Her most popular items by far are the products with her Drama Llama design. Aren't they cute?!

Of course I love them all and think it is a great way for her to be creative and to also learn how to earn money. So if you are still looking for that unique gift, please stop by Funny Bunny Designsand take a look.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Chris & Carole Beatty, creators and founders of Vocal Coach,
have taught and coached thousands of singers, young and old for over 40
years.

Vocal Coach has many wonderful products for adults, but we received one of their DVD sets for children, Teaching Kids to Sing. Teaching Kids to Sing is a 3 Disc DVD/CDset geared for ages 5-13, which includes the following:

* Building Foundations That Last DVD {Posture, Breathing, Tone, Warm Ups, and more}

Throughout the Teaching Kids to Sing series, children will learn proper posture and vocal habits as well as the necessary vocal techniques for developing their speaking and singing voices.

I was excited to receive this because Funny Bunny plays the piano and singing lessons are something that we would like her to take in the future, so I thought this would be a good place to start.

The Vocal Coach website has a whole section devoted to Homeschoolers and assists with scheduling the material on the DVDs. They suggest doing the DVDs in order, one topic at a time, and reinforcing that topic with the Accompaniment Tracks CD. They have even created an exam and answer key for both DVDs, which are available on their website for free.

My Thoughts: To be honest, I wasn't sure what to think at first. The video was made in 1999 and the children's clothing reflects that time period, so that was a little distracting. It also took me some time to get use to the techniques they were using. I've never taken singing lessons so I think I was expecting something different.

By the second CD though, I understood why they were teaching these skills. I think the schedule they recommend of completing one topic at a time and reinforcing that topic with the Accompaniment Tracks CD is a great idea. We watched both DVDs in order one right after another but it's probably best to follow the schedule.

She enjoyed the DVDs and practiced the techniques right along with the children. She also enjoyed singing the songs. The one that stands out to me is "I'm An Upright Child of the King."

Although this wasn't the best fit for our family, I think many can benefit from it.

Thoughts of a 9-Year Old: I like Teaching Kids to Sing. It has great lessons, songs, and warm-ups. My favorite songs are Loud, Soft, Fast, Slow and I'm A Vocal Athlete. It had some great warm-ups, too.

My Crewmates are also talking about The Vocal Coach, so you can check out what they think about it HERE.

Disclaimer: This product was
given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do
not have to return the product to the vendor. I have received no
compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review
are my own.

And now you can get the printable Truth in the Tinsel ornaments! Use
these on days you’re too busy to do a big craft, for toddlers, while
you’re at Grandma’s or if you just want to save a little money on
supplies!

The book comes as an ebook and is only $7.99 and the printable ornaments are only $3.99!

If you have used this book in the past, I would love to hear your thoughts!